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Xittlc  :fiSooft5  on  IReligion 

Edited  by  W.  Robertson  Nicoll,  LL.D. 


FORTY   DAYS   OF'  THE 
RISEN   LIFE 


Other   Volumes  in  this  Series. 


Gospel  Questions  and  Answers. 

By  James  Denney,  D.D. 

The  Unity  and  Symmetry  of  tlie  Bible. 
By  John  Monro  Gibson,  M.A.,  D.D. 

Four  Psalms. 

By  George  Adam  Smith. 
Christ  and  the  Future  Life. 

By  R.  W.  Dale,  LL.D. 

The  Seven  Words  from  the  Gross. 
By  W.  Robertson  Nicoll,  LL.D. 

The  Visions  of  a  Prophet ; 

Studies  in  Zechariah. 
By  Marcus  Dods,D.D. 

The  Four  Temperaments. 

By  Alexander  Whyte. 

Why  be  a  Christian  ? 
By  Marcus  Dods,  D.D. 

The  Upper  Eoom. 

By  John  Watson  (Ian  Maclaren). 


OTHERS   TO  FOLLOW. 


■f 


FORTY  DA^ 
THE  RISEN  LIFE 


> 


BY 


BOYD    CARPENTER 


BISHOP   OF   RIPON 


NEW    YORK 

DODD,  MEAD  AND  COMPANY 

1898 


Copyright,  rSgS, 
Bv  DoDD,  Mead  and  Company. 


©nitjersitg  Press; 
John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge,  U.S.A. 


Contents 


Chapter                                                        Page 
I.    The  Gospel   of   the  Twi- 
light    I 

II.    The  Shattering  of  Hopes  ii 

III.  The  Moods  of  Sorrow  .    .  27 

IV.  The  Aim  of  Comfort    .    .  50 
V.    The  Consistent  Inconsist- 
ency of  Love      ....  62 

VI.    Manifold       are       Love's 

Ways -]■] 

VII.    Grace  sanctions  and  sanc- 
tifies Natural  Ties  .    .  88 


FORTY   DAYS   OF  THE 
RISEN   LIFE 


Forty   Days   of  the 
Risen   Life 

9 


THE   GOSPEL   OF  THE 
TWILIGHT 

There  is  within  the  Gospels  a 
gospel  of  special  tenderness,  a 
gospel  which  appeals  with  pe- 
culiar power  to  those  who  are 
weighted  with  the  burdens  of 
doubt  and  sorrow.  Wherever, 
indeed,  Christ  is,  there  also  is 
His  voice,  saying,  "  Come  unto 
Me,  all  that  are  heavy  laden ; " 
but  if  we  would  see  Christ  min- 
istering with  grave  wisdom  and 
I 


FORTY   DAYS   OF 


effective  tenderness  to  those 
upon  whose  spirits  the  shad- 
ows have  fallen,  let  us  open 
the  story  of  the  Risen  Christ. 
There  He  appears  a  tender 
minister  to  the  perplexed  and 
sorrowful  —  to  those  who  feel 
the  burden  of  belief  and  the 
burden  of  the  loss  of  belief, 
whose  hearts  are  smitten  with 
the  sense  of  life's  loneliness, 
and  to  whom  the  empty  place 
where  love  once  dwelt  has  be- 
come an  intolerable  void. 

Jesus  Christ  had,  indeed,  no 
Adaptation,     csotcric  gospel.     He 

not  Reserve.      ^^^  ^^  QnOStic  ;     He 

encouraged  no  vain  and  con- 
ceited   notion    of    a    teaching 


THE   RISEN    LIFE 


which  was  reserved  for  the  in- 
tellectually elite.  What  He  had 
to  tell  was  the  truth  of  God  — 
God's  love,  God's  righteous- 
ness, God's  healing  —  open  to 
all,  taught  to  all  without  re- 
serve, without  money  and  with- 
out price.  What  there  was  to 
teach  was  to  be  taught  to 
all  nations,  to  every  creature 
under  heaven,  without  restric- 
tion, frankly  and  fully.  But 
though  there  is  no  esoteric 
doctrine  in  Christianity,  yet 
is  there  an  esoteric  teaching, 
for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is 
within;  and  its  teachings  are 
the  teachings  of  the  spirit  given 
to  each  man.     Those  teachings 


FORTY   DAYS   OF 


cannot  be  received  by  deputy. 
Man  vainly  tries  to  teach  them 
to  his  brother  man.  He  may 
tell  them  glad  tidings,  but  he 
cannot  teach  them.  Christian- 
ity is  not  esoteric,  if  by  esoteric 
is  meant  that  it  has  some  re- 
serve doctrine ;  but  Christianity 
is  the  most  esoteric  of  all  reli- 
gions if  we  consider  that  it  sets 
forth  the  need  of  an  inward  and 
spiritual  teaching  which  lies 
beyond  human  art  and  skill  to 
impart.  Only  spirit  can  teach 
spirit.  Only  God's  Spirit  can 
teach  effectively.  The  promise 
of  the  new  covenant  is  '*  They 
shall  be  all  taught  of  God." 
While,  therefore,  Jesus    Christ 


THE   RISEN    LIFE  5 

had  no  reserve  in  His  teaching, 
He  yet  taught  as  only  He  could 
teach. 

And  in  the  story  of  His 
appearances  after  His  resur- 
rection we  have  types  of  His 
method  of  teaching.  It  is  like, 
yet  unlike,  His  teaching  in  the 
days  before  the  passion.  It  is 
like,  for  the  love,  the  thought- 
fulness,  the  skill  is  the  same ; 
it  is  like,  for  it  is  still  tenderly 
adapted  to  character;  but  it  is 
unlike,  for  there  is  more  quiet- 
ness, a  more  deeply  personal 
element  in  it.  It  is  a  gospel  of 
the  twilight.  It  is  like  teach- 
ing heard  in  calm  and  cool 
hours.      The    turmoil    of    the 


FORTY   DAYS    OF 


world  seems  far  away.  The 
roar  is  heard,  but  heard  only 
as  a  sound  afar  off.  The  fierce 
noontide  heat  and  glare  are 
softened  to  our  senses.  If  the 
gospel  is  the  same,  it  is  a  gos- 
pel told  in  gentle  voice  as  of 
one  speaking  low  and  clear  in 
the  hour  of  softened  light,  or 
as  one  who  whispers  comfort 
in  a  darkened  chamber  to  be- 
reaved hearts.  The  hour  is 
propitious ;  the  burden  and 
heat  of  the  day  are  gone.  The 
voice  which  speaks  tells  of  pos- 
sibilities which  in  full  daylight 
hours  we  do  not  think  of  or 
care  for.  The  unseen  world 
seems   to    come   nearer.      The 


THE   RISEN   LIFE 


voice  which  speaks  is  the  same 
familiar  voice,  yet  it  speaks 
from  the  other  side  of  the 
grave.  As  it  speaks  we  mark 
how  varying  phenomena  may 
be  united  in  common  principle. 
We  begin  to  understand  that 
variety  of  experience  is  not 
hostile  to  unity  of  guidance. 
We  perceive  that  there  is  one 
who  is  the  same  to  all,  and  who 
yet  comes  differently  to  each. 
His  love  is  changeless  and  im- 
partial, and  His  wisdom  is  the 
wisdom  which  reads  individual 
needs.  He  can  recognise  the 
idiosyncrasies  of  men  as  well 
as  show  himself  alive  to  their 
common  wants. 


FORTY   DAYS    OF 


It  is  the  gospel  of  the  twi- 
light. The  messages  spoken 
are  messages  of  love  and  wis- 
dom to  sad  and  troubled  souls, 
and  moreover  they  are  mes- 
sages spoken  at  a  time  when 
they  are  most  welcome  and 
most  needful.  It  is  the  time 
"  when  thoughts  of  guilt  come 
heaviest  on  the  soul,"  when  the 
quietness  enables  us  to  think 
more  clearly,  and  to  perceive 
more  vividly  the  significance 
of  our  failures.  It  is  the  hour 
when  loneliness  is  felt  to  be 
most  lonely.  It  is  the  hour 
when  the  light  is  clear  of  cloud 
—  soothing  yet  tender,  and  as 
it  were  lovingly  veiled  for  the 


THE   RISEN   LIFE 


sake  of  weeping  eyes.  And  it 
is  such  an  hour  which  reveals 
that,  though  dead,  the  real, 
risen  Christ  may  come  to  many 
hearts  with  varying  method 
but  the  same  changeless  love 
and  helpfulness. 

And  thus  in  the  story  of  the 
Forty  Days,  and  in  the  mani- 
festations of  our  Lord  during 
them  we  have  pictures  of  the 
way  in  which  the  Lord  of  life 
dealt  with  those  whose  hopes 
had  been  shattered,  whose 
hearts  had  been  grief-smitten, 
who  had  gone  through  an 
agony  of  doubt,  bewilderment, 
bereavement,  and  self-reproach. 
This  twilight   gospel    becomes 


FORTY   DAYS    OF 


thus  a  gospel  for  the  troubled. 
In  its  quiet  and  peace-giving 
incidents  we  hear  the  echo  of 
the  same  voice  which  spoke 
those  immortal  words  in  the 
upper  chamber  before  He  suf- 
fered, *'  Let  not  your  heart  be 
troubled :  ye  believe  in  God, 
believe  also  in  Me." 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  II 


II 

THE    SHATTERING   OF   HOPES 

The  three  days  between  Geth- 
semane  and  the  first  Easter 
Day  brought  to  the  Disciples 
experiences  which  changed 
their  whole  life.  We  cannot 
enter  into  the  significance  of 
the  story  which  follows  unless 
we  bear  in  mind  the  startling 
and  searching  ordeal  to  which 
they  had  been  subjected.  Their 
Master  passed  through  the 
grave  and  gate  of  death.  They, 
too,  in  a  sense,  were  buried  with 


12  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

Him.  They  were  as  those  who 
had  passed  through  the  Valley 
of  Shadows. 

They   had    been    cherishing 

dreams,  which  those  few  days 

destroyed.       Noth- 

Broken  Dreams. 

ing  is  SO  hard  to 
disturb  as  the  notions  and  asso- 
ciations which  have  grown  up 
with  us.  Ideas  come  to  us  at 
first  through  concrete  forms. 
As  we  recall  these  ideas,  we 
recall  also  the  vivid  pictures 
with  which  they  were  first  asso- 
ciated in  our  minds.  The 
imaginations  with  their  early 
colouring  hover  round  our 
thoughts  till  some  strange,  per- 
haps heart-breaking  experience 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  1 3 

dashes  them  in  pieces.  We 
know  well  what  were  the  imag- 
inings with  which  the  Disciples 
associated  the  idea  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  The  notion  of 
the  coming  kingdom  had  in 
their  minds  its  dazzling  drapery 
of  worldly  and  material  pomp. 
In  their  earliest  days  the  dream 
of  the  Messiah's  kingdom  had 
taken  this  form.  In  their  first 
intercourse  with  our  Lord  this 
form  of  the  kingdom  still  hung 
in  their  thoughts.  Their  antici- 
pations of  His  triumph  took  the 
colouring  of  their  early  dreams ; 
it  could  hardly  be  otherwise ; 
and  even  the  clear  and  reiter- 
ated  teaching  of  their  Master 


14  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

concerning  a  kingdom  which 
was  within  and  spiritual,  failed 
wholly  to  dispel  their  mistaken 
imaginations.  The  pictures 
had  been  so  early  painted  on 
their  inmost  fancy  that  the 
colours  and  forms  persisted  in 
showing  themselves  through 
whatever  else  was  sketched  or 
delineated  before  their  minds. 
This  persistency  of  early  im- 
pressions shows  itself,  even 
after  the  resurrection  of  our 
Lord,  in  the  question,  '*  Lord, 
wilt  Thou  at  this  time  restore 
the  kingdom  to  Israel?"  (Acts 
i.  6.)  But  though  these  im- 
pressions thus  lingered,  the 
materialism  of  their  conceptions 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  I  5 

was  rudely  shaken  by  the  death 
of  Him  whom  they  beHeved  to 
be  the  Messiah.  Their  per- 
plexity found  expression  in  the 
plaintive  utterance  of  almost 
abandoned  hope.  ''  We  hoped 
that  it  was  He  which  should 
redeem  Israel."  Whatever  else 
was  shown  to  them  in  those 
wondrous  days  of  suspense  and 
sorrow,  they  were  taught  that 
the  fulfilment  of  their  expec- 
tations was  not  necessarily 
through  the  continuance  of 
things  as  they  were,  or  the  per- 
petuation of  their  materialistic 
dreams.  They  had  seen  the 
death  of  the  Kingof  the  Jews  — 
their  trusted  Messiah.     This  in 


FORTY  DAYS   OF 


itself  must  have  diverted  their 
thoughts  into  new  directions. 

If  their  materiaHstic  hopes 
thus  received  a  blow,  the  same 
ggjf.  blow    struck    home 

Revelation.         ^j^^    ^^    ^j^^j^     ^^^^^^ 

through  a  deepened  and  inten- 
sified self-knowledge.  Death 
has  a  wondrous  power  of  ap- 
peal to  our  better  nature.  It 
reveals  us  to  ourselves.  It 
awakens  our  self-reproach,  be- 
cause it  discloses  to  us  our 
selfishness  and  our  indolent 
neglect  of  the  opportunities  of 
love.  However  much  we  may 
have  shown  affection  and  ten- 
der ministration  to  our  dear 
ones,   a  sort  of  reproach  falls 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  1/ 

upon  us  when  they  have  passed 
beyond  our  reach.  We  feel 
that  we  might  have  done  more. 
We  never  value  them  as  much 
as  in  the  moment  when  they 
are  no  longer  ours.  If,  as  is 
too  often  the  case,  we  have 
been  unkind  through  heedless- 
ness or  harshness,  then  the 
moment  of  death  brings  a  re- 
proach which  is  dashed  with 
bitter  truth.  Then  the  minis- 
try, which  in  life  looked  so 
commonplace  that  it  seemed  a 
trifling  thing  to  forego,  appears 
to  us  as  a  sacred  opportunity 
which  only  cruel  hardness  could 
have  neglected.  We  can  thus, 
perhaps,  understand  something 


1 8  FORTY   DAYS    OF 

of  what  the  death  of  Christ 
must  have  been  to  those  who 
did  indeed  sincerely  love  Him, 
but  who  for  that  very  reason 
would  most  realise  how  much 
more  they  might  have  done. 
Would  not  the  perfume  of 
Mary's  gift  linger  with  them 
and  its  very  fragrance  bring  a 
bitter  reproach?  "She  did  it 
for  my  burial,"  Christ  had  said; 
and  they,  the  others,  who  had 
seen  more  of  Him  and  been 
admitted  to  even  closer  and 
more  continuous  fellowship, 
had  done  nothing  except  to 
weary  Him  with  their  conten- 
tions and  to  forsake  Him  in 
His  extremity.       What   yearn- 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  19 

ings  for  one  more  chance  of 
showing  their  love  must  have 
been  theirs?  How  often  in 
those  three  days  must  they 
have  longed  for  the  touch  of 
the  vanished  hand  or  the  right 
and  power  to  say,  *'  In  spite  of 
all  our  selfish  blindness  and 
heedlessness,  we  did  love."  For 
hearts  thus  riven  with  self-re- 
proach, it  would  have  seemed  a 
sweet  and  heavenly  joy  to  have 
been  able  to  minister  in  the 
humblest  way  to  Him  !  Ah  ! 
to  have  loosed  the  latchet  of 
His  shoes  and  to  have  washed 
His  tired  feet !  But  this  they 
had  lost  the  opportunity  of 
doing;  and  His  hands, the  hands 


20  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

which  the  nails  had  pierced, 
had,  in  that  crowning  hour  of 
His  sorrow,  washed  their  feet. 

Their  memory  and  love  in 
those  three  days  must  have 
Educating       wrought    with    cdu- 

Influence  of 

Sorrow.  cating  power  in  their 

hearts.  We  can  trace  symp- 
toms of  this  in  the  restlessness 
and  the  longing  to  be  doing 
something  which  seems  to  have 
taken  possession  of  them  at 
times.  It  was  as  though  they 
would  fain  shut  out  the  mem- 
ory of  things  too  bitter  to  be 
borne.  How  can  they  endure 
to  think  of  what  they  might 
have  done  and  did  not,  or  of 
what     their    faithlessness     and 


THE    RISEN    LIFE  21 

cowardice  had  done,  adding 
bitterness  to  His  cup  of  sorrow? 
Are  we  surprised  to  hear  Simon 
Peter  saying,  "  I  go  a-fishing"? 
or  to  listen  to  the  prompt  reply 
of  men  who  feel  something  at 
least  of  what  he  feels:  *'We 
also  go  with  thee  "? 

These  men  were  men  to  whom 
a  few  short  days  had  brought 
experiences  which  to  others  a 
lifetime  might  not  bring.  The 
one  central  power  and  support 
of  their  life  had  fallen.  The 
One  round  whom  their  hopes 
had  gathered,  and  whose  sweet 
attractiveness  had  awakened 
deep  and  lasting  affection,  had 
passed  into  the  land  of  shadows. 


22  FORTY    DAYS    OF 

Where  they  had  dreamed  of 
triumph,  there  they  had  seen 
the  vanishing  of  their  dreams. 
Their  Master  had  gone  into  the 
valley  of  humiliation  instead  of 
mounting  the  throne  of  His 
father  David. 

In  encountering  such  an  ex- 
perience of  loss  and  disap- 
pointment, a  hundred  problems 
started  into  life  within  their 
souls.  Questions  which  they 
had  been  content  to  leave  un- 
answered, believing  that  the 
future  held  an  abundant  and 
satisfactory  answer,  now  clam- 
oured for  reply.  Had  the  Mes- 
siah come?  Had  their  faith 
been    based    on     a    delusion? 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  23 

Had  their  hearts  been  drawn 
by  One  who  was  after  all  just 
as  other  men?  Was  the  love 
which  they  had  allowed  to 
stream  towards  Him  all  in  vain? 
And  even  more  heart-confound- 
ing was  the  thought  of  the 
love  which  flowed  from  Him  to 
them.  Was  it  as  a  brook  which 
sparkled  and  refreshed  for  a 
moment,  and  had  then  dried 
up  into  silence  beneath  the 
burning  sunshine?  Had  the 
moral  beauty  and  heavenly  dig- 
nity of  that  wondrous  life  no 
permanent  meaning?  They  had 
not  apprehended  all  His  teach- 
ing, but  the  shock  of  these  few 
days  had   caused   many  fancy- 


24  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

built  edifices  to  tumble  down; 
and  they  began  dimly  to  see 
that  His  teaching  had  touched 
ranges  of  spiritual  thought 
which  their  materialism  of  view 
had  veiled  from  them.  The 
outlines  of  the  real  spiritual 
kingdom  of  God  began  to  loom 
upon  them,  casting  as  yet 
shadows  upon  their  perplexed 
hearts.  They  perceived,  how- 
ever, that  there  were  realities 
other  than  those  to  which  they 
had  looked  forward.  There  was 
a  kingdom  of  moral  beauty  of 
which  the  life  and  the  death  of 
their  Lord  had  made  them  sen- 
sible. But  as  yet  all  seemed 
confused.     Their  sight  was  but 


half  restored.  Living  realities 
were  as  yet  but  as  trees  walk- 
ing. In  their  spirits,  the  sense 
of  loss,  the  reversal  of  their  ex- 
pectations, the  sorrow  of  their 
hearts,  the  consciousness  of 
life's  greater  things,  the  revela- 
tion of  their  own  weakness,  lone- 
liness, perplexity,  heartache, 
and  remorse  contended  to- 
gether. Active  work  might 
silence  the  tumult  of  those 
voices.  They  turned  to  their 
old  familiar  nets  as  to  a  refuge 
from  experiences  which  had 
wrought  bewilderment.  They 
had  tasted  elevation  and  de- 
pression, lofty  dreams  and  pro- 
found   disappointment,    strong 


26  FORTY   DAYS    OF 

attachments  and  humiliating 
self-knowledge ;  they  would 
handle  their  fishing  tackle  and 
find  solace  in  their  ancient 
handicraft.  As  yet,  Christ  was 
not  fully  known  to  them ;  but 
He  was  no  mere  dead  man. 
The  force  of  His  life  was  to 
them  a  real  force ;  and  some 
had  said  that  He  was  alive, 
and  some  of  them  had  seen 
Him.  But  all  was  not  yet  clear. 
Thought  was  too  painful,  for  it 
led  to  no.  definite  result.  The 
meaning  of  their  life  was  not 
unfolded.  There  was  one  thing 
they  could  do.  They  were 
fishermen.  They  would  resume 
their  occupation. 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  2/ 


III 
THE   MOODS   OF   SORROW 

"  Man  is  born  to  trouble  as 
the  sparks  fly  upward,"  cried 
Job,  in  his  sorrow.  The  world 
has  echoed  the  thought,  if  not 
the  saying.  Trouble  is  too 
common  not  to  have  found 
expression  in  ev^ery  age  and 
among  every  people.  It  has 
been  a  common  practice  to 
bring  together  quotations  from 
poets,  philosophers,  and  great 
men  of  all  nations  and  times 
to   establish    the    truth  of  the 


28  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

reign  of  sorrow;  as  if  the 
thing  needed  proving  which 
every  human  heart,  sooner  or 
later,  knows  without  proof. 

But  though  trouble  is  com- 
mon to  all,  the  effects  of 
trouble  are  not  the  same  in 
all.  Trouble  may  evoke  tears 
in  some,  but  anger  and  fierce 
impatience  in  others.  It  be- 
wilders some  spirits,  and  for 
many  days  after  the  blow  has 
fallen  they  walk  as  in  a  dream. 
Others  are  startled  ;  fearfulness 
and  a  horrible  dread  take  hold 
upon  them.  In  some  it  begets 
scepticism  ;  in  others  an  eager- 
ness for  some  refuge  of  faith. 
And  there  is  yet  another  class. 


THE   RISEN   LIFE 


who  seemed  to  suffer  little 
change;  and  yet  the  change 
when  recognised  is  most  sadly 
significant.  They  go  about 
work  and  duty  as  before ;  but 
for  them,  ever  after,  life's  music 
is  set  in  a  lower  key. 

It  is  not  the  least  interesting 
part  of  the  story  of  the  Forty 
Days  that  it  exhibits  to  us  the 
different  effects  of  the  same 
sorrow  upon  different  classes. 
All  those  who  are  brought 
prominently  on  the  scene  had 
loved  Christ.  His  death  was 
the  loss  of  a  friend  who  had 
filled  a  large  place  in  their 
lives  and  had  found  His  v/ay 
into   their  hearts.      Here   then 


30  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

are  people  prostrated  by  a 
common  bereavement;  but  in 
what  varied  forms  does  sorrow 
show  itself  among  them? 

The  ministry  to  sorrow  is  no 
easy  thing.  The  cheap  and 
mechanical  repetition  of  truths, 
however  tender  and  noble,  will 
not  touch  the  heart  or  stay 
its  pitiful  or  indignant  throb. 
Men  are  alike;  and  yet  how 
different!  We  need  to  know 
what  is  common  to  men,  but 
we  need  also  to  have  some 
skill  in  what  is  special  to  types 
of  men  if  we  would  track  the 
source  of  tears  and  staunch 
them  at  their  fount.  It  is  just 
because    this    narrative    of  the 


THE   RISEN   LIFE 


risen  Lord  shows  us  the  Christ 
ministering  to  the  different 
moods  of  sorrow,  and  proving 
Himself  master  and  healer  of 
all,  that  this  gospel  of  the  twi- 
light has  its  special  message  to 
the  sorrowful. 

And  first,  then,  let  us  see 
the  moods  of  sorrow  as  they 
are      set      forth      in  wistful 

1  •  -n  T  Sorrow. 

the  narrative.  Mary 
stood  at  the  sepulchre  weep- 
ing. It  is  a  very  ordinary 
type.  Here  is  sorrow  in  its 
simplest  form  —  tears  and  a 
great  heart-hunger  with  a  wist- 
ful hope  that  the  cloud  may 
prove  to  be  a  dream-cloud 
after    all.      And    yet    here    we 


32  FORTY    DAYS    OF 

know  there  were  certain  spe- 
cial emotions  which  were  due 
to  personal  memories  and  ex- 
periences. Christ  had  done 
for  Mary  that  which  none  other 
had  done.  He  had  given  her 
back  her  life  to  live  again. 
Out  of  the  last  state,  which 
was  worse  than  the  first,  He 
had  delivered  her.  He  had 
given  her  back,  instead  of 
recklessness,  a  new  reverence 
for  life.  He  had  anchored  her 
spirit  to  a  surer  anchorage, 
and  filled  her  spirit  with  the 
flame  of  a  love  so  pure  and 
lofty  that  it  had  burnt  out  the 
refuse  of  lower  and  baser  affec- 
tions.    To  her  sorrowinsf  heart, 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  33 

carrying  the  remembrance  of 
the  marvellous  moral  resur- 
rection which  had  taken  place 
in  her  own  life,  the  total  pass- 
ing away  of  Him  who  had 
been  life  indeed  to  her  was 
almost  unthinkable.  She  could 
not  believe  that  He  was  gone 
even  when  she  carried  the 
spices  and  ointments  to  do  the 
last  offices  for  the  dead.  And 
yet  He  was  dead :  she  had 
seen  Him  die ;  and  when  she 
found  the  sepulchre  empty,  her 
heart  revolted  at  the  thought 
that  other  than  loving  hands 
should  be  laid  upon  the  sacred 
casket  which  held  a  life  so  dear. 

How  human  the  story  is  !    How 
3 


34  FORTY   DAYS    OF 

natural  too  that  when  the  men 
went  away,  satisfied  that  noth- 
ing more  could  be  done,  the 
woman  should  still  linger  at 
the  spot,  reluctant  to  accept  the 
inevitable,  and  finding  a  flower 
of  hope  on  the  ground  which 
reason  had  pronounced  to  be 
barren.  And  so  Mary  stood 
at  the  sepulchre  weeping. 

The    mood    which    Thomas 

showed  in  the  hour  of  sorrow 

,    ,      is    in    striking    con- 

Despondent  •=> 

^°'"^°^-  trast  to  that  of  Mary. 

With  her  there  is  tenderness, 
yearning  of  heart,  a  reluctance 
to  believe  the  worst,  a  dread  of 
the  touch  of  stranger  hands. 
With   Thomas   there    seems    a 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  35 


sort  of  hardness  born  of  de- 
spondency, a  closing  of  the 
heart  to  the  softer  feehngs,  a 
sullen  acceptance  of  the  loss  as 
the  inevitable  fate  of  all  the 
objects  of  admiration  and  affec- 
tion. She  was  unwilling  to 
release  her  hold  on  what  was 
so  dear,  and  was  reluctant  to 
believe  the  worst.  He  fiercely 
thrust  away  hope  and  refused 
to  believe  other  than  the  worst. 
Love  takes  opposing  forms  and 
yet  remains  love.  Sometimes 
it  is  tearful,  tender,  wistful,  as 
was  Mary's.  At  other  times  it 
is  obstinately  hopeless  and  bit- 
terly incredulous,  as  in  the  case 
of  Thomas.     It  is  then  misun- 


36  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

derstood.  This  hard,  sullen 
temper  wears  no  semblance  of 
a  broken  heart.  We  associate 
with  it  rather  sobs  and  tears 
and  desolated  looks,  as  its  usual 
vesture.  But  sorrow  may  freeze 
as  well  as  dissolve  the  spirit. 
All  the  sceptical  activities  of 
the  mind  are  summoned  to  the 
side  of  the  disappointed  heart, 
which  is  ready  to  take  a  sullen 
interest  in  pessimistic  views. 
So  Thomas  will  refuse  to  credit 
the  news  which  his  heart  longs 
to  find  true.  He  will  fight 
against  any  chance  of  fresh 
disappointment.  That  he  could 
not  endure.  If  he  is  to  give 
way    to    joyfulness     of    heart 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  IJ 


again  he  will  have  sohd  argu- 
ments, yes,  indubitable  proofs. 
**  Except  I  see  —  except  I 
touch,  I  will  not  believe."  It 
is  not  the  most  pleasing  form 
of  grief;  but  we  shall  wrong  it 
if  we  do  not  see  that  sorrow 
sometimes  turns  the  spirit  rigid 
as  though  frostbound.  We 
shall  miss  the  lesson  of  the 
story  if  we  cannot  read  love 
beneath  the  hard  and  unyield- 
ing demeanour  of  Thomas. 

Different,  again,  is  the  atti- 
tude of  Peter  in  this  time  of 
trouble.  With  him 
trouble  brought  more 
than  loss.  A  deep  and  indel- 
ible self-reproach  mingled  with 


Remorseful 
Sorrow. 


38  FORTY   DAYS    OF 

his  sorrow.  A  look  in  which 
all  the  boundless  love  and  ten- 
derness of  the  past  and  the 
unutterable  pity  and  sorrow  of 
the  present  found  expression, 
must  have  haunted  him  during 
those  three  days.  And  Peter 
acts  as  a  man  who  carries  with 
him  an  unappeased  remorse. 
We  notice  his  restlessness ;  he 
cannot  quietly  wait;  inaction 
is  impossible ;  at  the  first  news 
of  a  resurrection  he  must  run 
to  the  sepulchre.  No  awe  re- 
strains his  restless  impetuosity. 
He  enters  the  sepulchre;  he 
eagerly  surveys  all  that  is  to 
be  seen.  While  doubt  still  re- 
mains, he  is  afraid  to  find  that 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  39 

true  which,  nevertheless,  he 
longs  to  know  is  true.  His 
spirit,  torn  with  self-reproach, 
dreads  to  meet  the  Master  to 
whom  he  has  been  false,  whom 
yet  he  loves  so  truly.  He  can- 
not endure  inaction;  he  must 
be  doing  something.  "  I  go  a- 
fishing."  And  when  in  the  dim 
dawn,  John  whispers  to  him  of 
the  lonely  figure  which  stands 
on  the  shore,  "  It  is  the  Lord," 
the  necessity  to  be  doing  some- 
thing grows  fierce  within  him. 
The  hour  of  the  inevitable  meet- 
ing with  his  forsaken  Lord  has 
come.  He  feels  the  Master's 
eye  is  upon  him  once  more. 
He  dreads  to  meet  it.     He  will 


40  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

lessen  self-consciousness  in  ac- 
tivity. In  a  moment  he  is  over 
the  ship's  side  and  is  busily  at 
work  dragging  the  net  to  shore. 
Only  fierce  absorbing  activity 
will  allay  the  fever  of  tumultu- 
ous joy  and  agonising  self-re- 
proach and  nervous  dread  which 
torments  him.  The  hour  of 
sorrow  finds  him  a  restless, 
heart-stricken,  and  remorseless 
man  to  whom  quiet  thought  is 
torture,  and  movement  a  neces- 
sary relief 

Can  we  form  any  clear  view 
of  the  manner  in  which  John 
met  this  great  sorrow?  The 
materials  are  not  plentiful,  but 
there  is  enoug-h  to  enable  us  to 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  41 

trace  in  outline  the  demeanour 
of  the  Beloved  Disciple  at  the 
time.  He  had  been  at  the 
Cross  till  the  end,  or  nearly  so. 
He  accepted  the  precious  legacy 
which  Christ  had  left  him.  He 
had  taken  charge  of  the  mother 
of  the  Lord.  Already  we  trace 
the  growing  quietude  of  John's 
demeanour.  He  had  been  called 
one  of  the  Boanerges.  He  had 
had  his  impulsive  moods;  he 
had  felt  fierce  resentment  for 
his  Master's  sake,  when  he  fain 
would  have  called  down  fire 
from  heaven.  But  he  had  lived 
near  to  the  quiet,  calm,  loving 
heart  of  his  Master.  Something 
of  the  calm  which  belonged  to 


42  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

the  depth  of  Christ's  nature  had 
passed  upon  him.  He  had  be- 
gun to  drink  of  the  fountain 
of  hfe;  more  deeply  than  the 
others  he  had  drunk  into  the 
spirit  of  his  Master;  and  with 
these  draughts  had  come  some- 
thing of  the  calm  of  a  more  rest- 
ful faith.  Nothing  which  was 
of  God  could  finally  be  over- 
thrown. Perplexity  and  bewil- 
derment might  be  experiences 
by  the  way  ;  but  was  there 
not  a  well-built  dwelling-place 
which  no  storm  could  over- 
throw? (Matt.  vii.  35.)  And 
so  without  restlessness,  though 
sore  of  heart,  John  devotes  him- 
self to  the  task  which  Christ  had 


THE   RISEN    LIFE  43 

given  him.  This  at  least  can  be 
done.  The  Master's  will  may- 
be fulfilled  though  the  Master's 
eyes  have  closed  in  death.  But 
the  quietness  of  John  is  not 
the  quietness  of  crushed  natural 
feeling.  He  can  respond  to  the 
suggestions  of  hope  and  loving 
curiosity.  With  Peter,  when  the 
rumour  of  the  empty  sepulchre 
is  brought,  he  can  run  to  the 
sepulchre,  and  his  young  feet 
bring  him  there  first.  But 
once  there,  an  awe  touches  his 
soul.  This  is  the  spot  where 
his  Master  lay.  Here  they  had 
placed  Him  after  death.  The 
reverent  dread  which  love  feels 
for  the  spot,  the  form,  the  relics 


44  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

of  those  who  are  gone,  is  upon 
him.  He  reaches  the  place; 
yet  went  he  not  in.  Only  when 
the  stronger  soul  had  led  the 
way  did  John  venture  in  with 
sinking  and  awe-touched  heart. 
He  shrank  from  doing  anything 
which  seemed  to  violate  the 
sanctity  of  that  resting-place; 
but  when  Peter,  eager  to  probe 
the  story  to  the  bottom,  entered 
without  hesitation,  then  went  in 
also  that  other  Disciple  which 
came  first  to  the  sepulchre; 
and  he  saw  and  believed.  And 
now  the  quiet  trust  of  his  spirit 
is  vindicated.  It  is  true  that 
the  idea  of  a  resurrection  had 
not  penetrated  his  mind,  but  he 


THE   RISEN    LIFE  45 

had  dwelt  so  near  to  his  Mas- 
ter, he  had  so  caught  His  spirit, 
that  a  fiHal  confidence  possessed 
him  in  the  hour  of  loss.  Love 
was  over  all.  The  Father  of 
whom  Christ  had  spoken  was 
not  dethroned  because  of  the 
tragedy  of  the  Cross.  Love 
had  given  him  work  to  do ; 
but  now  that  he  had  visited 
the  empty  sepulchre,  and  found 
it  even  as  the  women  had  said, 
his  trust  was  reassured.  Noth- 
ing need  surprise  him.  Any 
moment  the  Master  might  be  in 
their  midst  again ;  and,  there- 
fore, the  words  he  speaks  to 
Peter  in  the  boat  sound  as  the 
words  of  one  to  whom  there  is 


46  FORTY   DAYS    OF 

nothing  surprising  in  the  fact 
that  his  Lord  should  be  near 
at  hand.  He  first  —  because 
his  heart  was  quicker  in  re- 
sponse and  his  repose  of  trust 
the  calmer  —  he  first,  of  the 
Disciples,  recognises  Jesus  on 
the  lakeside.  **  It  is  the  Lord," 
he  says,  as  though  it  was  a 
natural  and  glad  thing  that  he 
should  be  there.  He  more  than 
any  of  the  Disciples  had  risen 
into  that  region  of  trust  which 
asks  no  supernatural  evidence' 
of  that  which  is  the  most  natu- 
ral thing  in  the  world  —  the 
nearness  of  the  divine  to  the 
human.  The  deep  trustfulness 
of  John's  spirit  does  not  wholly 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  47 

forsake  him  in  the  hour  of  su- 
premest  sorrow. 

There  are  yet  two  more  upon 
whom  this  sorrow  had  fallen 
with  bewildering  ef-  perplexed 
feet.  More  fully  in  ^°"°"^- 
some  respects  than  with  even 
the  better  known  of  the  Dis- 
ciples is  the  state  of  mind  of 
the  two  Disciples  who  went  to 
Emmaus  made  known  to  us. 
We  are  allowed  to  hear  the 
free  expression  of  their  disap- 
pointments and  of  their  doubts. 
They  are  men  upon  whom  the 
loss  has  brought  mental  per- 
plexity. Questions  arose  in 
their  hearts.  The  ideas  which 
they    had    formed     had     been 


48  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

rudely  shattered.  The  sorrow 
which  brought  to  others  deso- 
lation of  heart,  unsatisfied  rest- 
lessness, obstinate  incredulity, 
has  occasioned  them  intellec- 
tual difficulty  allied  to  a  sur- 
prise and  disappointment  of 
hope.  They  had  lost  a  friend; 
but  they  had  lost  One  in  whom 
all  their  future  dreams  had  been 
centred.  With  His  death  came 
the  question:  "Have  we  been 
mistaken  all  along?  "  And  yet, 
in  one  thing  they  could  not  be 
mistaken.  The  One  whom  they 
had  known,  loved,  and  followed 
had  been  "  a  prophet  mighty  in 
word  and  deed."  The  enigma 
of   His   life   remained,   and,  in- 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  49 

deed,  was  the  greater  because 
of  His  death.  And  so  they 
exchange  their  confidences, 
ventilate  their  difficuhies,  and 
share  their  sadness  as  they 
leave  the  city  of  so  many  dis- 
appointments and  perplexities 
behind  them,  little  dreaming 
that  along  the  road  they  trod 
the  Christ  whom  they  mourned 
was  walking  also.  A  sorrow- 
ful bewilderment  was  their  por- 
tion in  the  time  of  trouble. 


50  FORTY   DAYS    OF 


IV 
THE   AIM    OF   COMFORT 

Comfort  is  a  word  which  in 
its  common  use  has  lost  some- 
thing of  its  original  robustness. 
Comfort  is  regarded  as  some- 
thing which  calms  the  agitated 
and  storm-swept  heart.  It  is 
regarded  as  soothing  rather 
than  stimulating;  but  in  its  true 
meaning,  comfort  is  something 
much  nobler  than  the  mere 
consoling  of  the  troubled  spirit. 
No  doubt  the  mother  comforts 
the  child   when   she  takes   the 


THE   RISEN    LIFE  5  I 

little  weeping  one  on  her  knees 
and  kisses  away  his  tears  as  he 
lies  in  her  soft,  warm,  shelter- 
ing arms.  There  is  something 
analogous  to  this  in  divine 
comfort :  "  As  one  whom  his 
mother  comforteth,  so  will  I 
comfort  thee."  But  the  out- 
look of  the  divine  comfort  is 
even  wider  than  this  imagery 
suggests.  With  the  earthly 
mother,  pity  and  distress  for  the 
child's  distress  prompt  her  to 
embrace  the  crying  child.  With 
the  divine  comfort,  there  is  al- 
ways the  look  beyond  the  sor- 
row of  the  passing  hour.  There 
is  the  desire  to  fortify  as  well 
as  to  console,  to  strengthen  the 


52  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

heart  as  well  as  assuage  the 
grief,  to  put  the  soul  in  the 
way  of  a  victory  over  sorrow 
rather  than  in  the  way  of  escape 
from  it.  In  all  the  divine  com- 
fort, there  is  a  ministry  of  power 
to  bear  as  well  as  consolation 
because  of  trouble.  The  di- 
vine Comforter  binds  up  the 
broken  in  heart,  but  He  seeks 
also  to  make  the  spirit  brave 
to  endure. 

There  is  a  bracing  energy 
about  divine  comfort,  then, 
which  lifts  it  into  a  higher 
range  than  the  mere  pale  nega- 
tive soothing  of  soul  which  is 
commonly  associated  with  the 
word.      True    comfort    brings 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  53 

fresh  courage  to  the  soul.  It 
stimulates,  arouses,  invigorates, 
besides  consoling  the  sorrow- 
ing  heart. 

This  perhaps  will  be  clearer 
to  us  if  we  try  to  remember 
what  is  the  purpose  ^^at  is 

of    divine     love     to-    Move's  Aim? 

wards  human  souls.  Jesus 
Christ  said:  *' I  am  come  that 
they  might  have  life,  and  that 
they  might  have  it  more  abun- 
dantly." The  work  of  the  Di- 
vine Redeemer,  then,  is  the 
pouring  of  the  divine  life  into 
the  human  soul.  To  this  end 
He  sent  His  Spirit:  *'VVe  have 
all  been  made  to  drink  into  one 
spirit."      Indeed,    the    Apostle 


54  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

uses  bold  language  when  he 
says :  *'  That  we  may  be  filled 
with  all  the  fulness  of  God." 
Our  spirit  life  is  strong  accord- 
ing to  the  fulfilling  of  our  spir- 
its with  this  divine  life.  Then 
we  are  invigorated  with  a  power 
which  is  not  of  this  world.  We 
become  conscious  that  we  have 
kinship  with  that  which  is 
above.  We  do  not  become 
less  human,  but  more  human ; 
for  our  love  becomes  more  ten- 
der, more  unselfish,  more  wide. 
We  become  less  worldly,  be- 
cause we  regard  all  the  inci- 
dents, attractions,  ambitions  — 
the  wealth  and  honours  for 
which    men    scramble  —  as    in 


THE   RISEN    LIFE  55 

no  way  essential  to  the  best 
life.  They  may  play  their  part 
as  means  to  one  end ;  but  in 
themselves  they  have  no  neces- 
sary relationship  to  the  higher 
and  divine  life.  They  may  be 
used  as  agencies  of  experience 
in  their  giving  or  taking  away. 
They  are  but  tools  in  the  grav- 
er's hands.  They  are  but  inci- 
dents and  episodes  on  the  way, 
bringing  with  them  knowledge 
and  enabling  us  to  use  and  test 
the  principles  and  the  force  of 
the  divine  life.  The  great  pur- 
pose is  never  forgotten.  The 
true  life  of  souls  is  never  found 
till  they  live  by  and  in  the 
divine  life,  taking  in  and  using 


56  FORTY   DAYS    OF 

its  force  freely,  fully,  hourly, 
not  regarding  the  divine  life  as 
a  casual  and  opportune  help 
by  the  way,  not  finding  it  as 
the  traveller  in  the  desert  might 
find  a  welcome  well  here  and 
there  in  the  sandy  waste,  but 
finding  it  constant,  flowing  ever 
at  hand,  as  the  Rock  that  fol- 
lowed Israel,  near  to  the  pil- 
grim every  foot  of  his  journey 
according  to  that  word  of  the 
prophet:  "In  the  wilderness 
shall  waters  break  forth  and 
streams  in  the  desert."  The 
realisation  of  the  continuous- 
ness  and  nearness  of  the  divine 
life,  its  free  accessibility  to  all 
of  us,  is  a  primary  truth  of  reli- 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  5/ 

gion.  It  needs  not  to  travel 
up  to  heaven  for  it,  or  to  pierce 
down  to  the  grave.  It  speaks 
on  this  wise :  "  The  word  is 
nigh  thee,  in  thy  mouth  and  in 
thy  heart."  The  Hfe  which  is 
so  potent  and  so  invigorating 
is  near  as  the  ether  which  en- 
virons and  interpenetrates  all 
things,  in  which  stars  and  suns 
float,  and  which  the  stoutest 
material  cannot  exclude,  which 
bathes  every  atom  of  every 
created  thing.  Do  we  say  too 
much?  We  cannot,  for  of  the 
divine  life-power  which  sur- 
rounds us,  flows  through  us, 
and  is  open  to  our  use  and  our 
needs,   the   Apostle  said:   "In 


58  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

Him,  we  live  and  move  and 
have  our  being." 

This  divine  Hfe,  so  near  at 
hand,  is  ever  seeking  fuller  and 
freer  entry  into  our  spirits. 
Life  and  life  more  abundantly 
is  sought  to  be   made  ours. 

If  this  be  so,  mere  consola- 
tions cannot  be  the  final  end 
No  Mere  ^^   diviuc    comfort. 

Consolation.  jj^^     ^^^     ^^^^^     ^^ 

the  invigorating  and  encourag- 
ing of  the  spirit  with  more  and 
more  of  the  divine  life.  The 
Godlike  life  must  be  ever  more 
and  more,  the  earthly  life  ever 
less  and  less.  Though  the  out- 
ward man  perish,  the  inward 
man    is   renewed    day  by  day. 


THE   RISEN    LIFE  59 

Not  in  mere  soothing  of  sor- 
row, not  in  mere  wiping  away 
of  tears,  but  in  deeper  con- 
sciousness of  God,  and  of  His 
full,  free,  and  sustaining  life 
does  the  true  divine  comfort 
consist. 

Only  as  we  keep  this  in  mind 
shall  we  understand  the  com- 
fort which  Christ  brought  to 
the  sorrowing  Disciples.  He 
gave  them  the  supremest  con- 
solation of  all.  Death  was 
shown  to  be  a  shadow,  a  power- 
less thing.  He  whom  they  saw 
die  stood  in  the  midst  of  them 
and  said  :  "  Peace  be  unto  you." 
He  whom  they  had  lost  was 
once  more  beside  them.     This 


60  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

was  the  common  feature  of  the 
consolation  He  brought  to  them 
all.  And  this  was  what  was 
needed  by  all.  No  matter 
what  form  their  sorrow  had 
taken,  it  was  the  restored  and 
living  Christ  whom  they  longed 
for.  And  so  He  was  mani- 
fested to  them :  to  Mary,  as 
she  stood  at  the  sepulchre 
weeping;  to  Thomas,  as  he  sat 
with  the  other  Disciples;  to 
Peter  by  the  lakeside,  or  in 
that  other  interview  of  which 
we  know  so  little ;  to  the  two 
Disciples  as  they  took  their  sad 
walk  towards  Emmaus.  The 
hearts  which  had  yearned,  each 
in  their  own  manner,  after  Him 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  6 1 

who  was  gone,  were  all  satis- 
fied. The  Master  was  alive. 
"  The  Lord  is  risen  indeed,  and 
hath  appeared." 

But  in  the  manner  of  His 
appearing  and  in  His  dealing 
with  each  sorrowful  one,  He 
wrought  more  for  them  than 
the  consolation  that  He  was 
alive.  He  remembered  the 
needs  of  each,  and  He  adapted 
the  ministry  of  His  appearing 
to  the  characters  and  spiritual 
requirements  of  each. 


62  FORTY   DAYS   OF 


THE    CONSISTENT    INCONSIST- 
ENCY  OF   LOVE 

The  narrative  of  the  Forty  Days 
shows  us  Christ  as  the  supreme 
teacher.  Teachers  are  various, 
but  there  are  two  classes  of 
teacher  who  must  ever  be  in  a 
radical  disagreement,  because 
there  is  a  profound  difference 
of  principle  at  the  root  of  their 
methods.  There  is  the  teacher 
who  has  his  system,  and  makes 
his  system  the  one  inflexible 
part  of  his  method.  Those 
whom  he  teaches  must  accept 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  63 

his  system ;  they  must  be 
thrown  into  the  one  mould,  and 
all  must  come  forth  stamped 
with  some  impression.  Legal- 
istic races  delight  in  their  sys- 
tems. The  French  minister 
who  rejoiced  to  think  that  as 
he  pulled  out  his  watch  every 
French  child  was  learning  the 
same  lesson,  was  the  very  em- 
bodiment of  the  worship  of 
system.  These  are  the  men 
who  pride  themselves  on  their 
consistency;  every  variety  of 
treatment  seems  to  them  a  sin, 
because  it  transgresses  the  rule 
of  consistency.  Such  is  the 
class  of  teachers  who  are  pro- 
foundly   legal,    intensely    sys- 


64  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

tematic,  the  worshippers  of  an 
external  form  of  consistency. 
Opposed  to  these  are  the  teach- 
ers who  look  first  at  the  pupil, 
and  are  ever  ready  to  adjust 
their  system  to  the  pupil's  need, 
capacity,  and  character.  These 
teachers  are  aware  that  one  of 
the  profoundest  facts  respect- 
ing human  beings  lies  in  the 
subtle  and  wide-ranging  varie- 
ties which  may  co-exist  with 
the  deepest  and  most  indisput- 
able harmonies  of  nature.  All 
men  are  alike  in  blood,  in  men- 
tal and  moral  structure.  One 
touch  of  nature  reveals  the  kin- 
ship of  mankind.  But  the 
charm  of  social  life  lies  in  the 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  65 

existence  of  the  constant  and 
piquant  differences  which  exist 
side  by  side  with  these  deep 
and  inalienable  resemblances. 
The  wise  teacher,  while  realis- 
ing these  resemblances,  will 
recognise  also  differences.  His 
system  will  not  be  hard  and 
inflexible.  He  will  have  no 
Procrustes-like  system.  He  has 
men  to  deal  with,  and  not 
merely  things. 

To  this  latter  class  our  Lord 
belonged.  Law  made  and 
could  make  nothing  ^^  . ,    ^ 

^    Christ  a  True 

perfect.        Systems  '^e^^^^^'"' 
were  for  dead  things,   not  for 
living  beings.     He  has  no  nar- 
row reverence  for  consistency, 
5 


66  FORTY   DAYS    OF 

His  aim  being  always  the  high- 
est goal  of  those  with  whom 
He  dealt.  He  can  afford  to 
run  the  risk  of  being  called  in- 
consistent. Shallow  natures 
cannot  understand  the  noble 
readiness  with  which  divergent 
methods  are  used  by  larger 
minds.  They  quarrel  with  the 
varieties  which  they  do  not  un- 
derstand. John  comes  neither 
eating  nor  drinking;  they  say 
he  hath  a  devil.  Christ  comes 
eating  and  drinking,  and  they 
say,  "  Behold  a  wine-bibber,  a 
friend  of  publicans  and  sin- 
ners." They  could  not  ap- 
preciate the  divine  love  which 
could    deliver   its    message   in 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  6/ 

startlingly  contrasted  forms. 
But  if  the  world  is  to  be  won,' 
and  if  human  nature  is  to  be 
helped,  hard  and  fast  rules  must 
be  left  aside.  God's  love  is 
like  the  atmosphere  which  fills 
up  all  corners  regardless  of 
their  shapes.  It  is  like  the 
flowing  river  which  spreads  its 
beauty  into  every  creek,  and 
fills  the  shallows  as  well  as  the 
deep  holes  in  its  course.  It 
adjusts  itself  to  the  hearts  which 
it  visits.  Its  consistency  lies 
in  this,  that  it  is  the  same 
to  all.  Its  earnestness  and 
thoughtfulness  lie  in  this,  that 
it  adapts  itself  to  all.  It  is  the 
same  pure,  true,  and  beautiful 


68  FORTY   DAYS    OF 

current  wherever  it  goes;  but 
it  possesses  the  capacity  for 
adapting  itself  to  each.  It  is 
like  the  ether,  rigid  yet  pene- 
trating, as  firm  as  steel  and 
yet  as  flexible  as  the  softest 
silk. 

After  this  fashion  Christ 
showed  His  love.  He  was  un- 
His  Contrasted  changeable  in  pur- 
''"'^°"-  pose  and  changeful 

of  method.  We  have  only  to 
put  side  by  side  His  dealing 
with  Mary  and  His  dealing 
with  Thomas.  Both  Mary  and 
Thomas  were  alike  in  this  — 
they  would  fain  verify  to  their 
senses  the  presence  of  their 
ri;-cn    Lord.     Both   sought  the 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  69 

evidence  of  touch  to  satisfy 
themselves  that  they  were  not 
deceived  by  their  eyes.  Thomas 
will  demand  their  verification. 
"  Except  I  put  my  hand  into 
the  print  of  the  nails,  I  will  not 
believe."  Mary  reaches  forth 
her  hand  to  assure  herself  that 
it  is  in  very  deed  her  Master 
who  stands  before  her. 

But  our  Lord  treats  them 
differently.  He  welcomes  — 
nay,  he  insists  —  on  the  touch 
of  Thom.as.  He  checks  the 
outstretched  hand  of  Mary. 
To  the  one  He  says,  "  Reach 
hither  thy  hand."  To  the 
other:    "Touch  me  not." 

Here  were  very  different  pu- 


70  FORTY   DAYS    OF 

pils  in  the  school  of  faith.  The 
action  which  would  be  good 
for  the  one  would  not  be  good 
for  the  other.  Beyond  our 
power  of  explanation,  there 
were  reasons  for  this  difference 
in  the  moral  condition  and 
spiritual  progress  of  the  two 
persons.  Even  if  we  could  not 
guess  at  the  explanation,  we 
should  be  content  to  believe 
that  He  who  knew  so  pro- 
foundly our  nature,  and  who 
understood  with  such  tender 
individual  interest  the  needs 
of  each  of  His  servants,  varied 
His  action  as  was  best  suited 
to  the  spiritual  attainments  of 
each. 


THE   RISEN   LIFE 


We  may  guess  at  the  reason 
for  the  difference.  Thomas  was 
possessed    of    that 

His  Reason. 

fond  temperament 
which  out  of  his  very  affection 
found  reasons  for  disbeheving 
what  he  most  ardently  wished 
to  be  true.  To  correct  the 
weakness  of  such  a  desponding 
temperament  is  part  of  Christ's 
work.  Can  it  be  better  done 
than  by  granting  the  very  evi- 
dence which  had  been  asked,  and 
by  giving  it  readily  to  awaken 
a  sense  of  shame  that  it  should 
ever  have  been  demanded? 
Thomas  is  brought  face  to 
face  with  the  littleness  and  low- 
ness  to  which  he   had  yielded 


72  FORTY   DAYS    OF 


through  the  fierce  demand 
prompted  by  his  too  ready 
despair.  He  is  brought  to  see 
that  there  was  a  loftier  path 
which  he  might  have  trod.  He 
is  driven  to  wish  that  he  had 
not  so  unadvisedly  resolved  or 
expressed  his  resolve.  A  little 
patience,  a  little  more  trust,  a 
little  more  cultivation  of  hope- 
fulness would  have  spared  him 
the  shame  of  having  his  wishes 
fulfilled.  More  blessed  would 
he  have  been  had  he  been  con- 
tent to  trust  the  larger  love 
without  this  eager  impatience 
for  physical  evidence.  When 
we  turn  to  Mary  we  meet  with 
a    wholly    different    character. 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  73 

Love,  genuine  love  to  their 
Master,  is  the  common  prop- 
erty of  both  Disciples;  but 
the  temperament  of  Thomas 
was  gloomy  and  despondent. 
Good  news  must  come  with 
decisive  evidence  if  it  is  to 
be  believed.  Dark  things  are 
more  likely  than  bright.  Faith 
in  the  ever-ruling  goodness  is 
as  yet  but  a  hesitating  senti- 
ment. With  Mary  love  was 
fond  and  ardent.  It  was  not 
so  much  the  desire  for  evi- 
dence which  prompted  her  to 
reach  forth  her  hand.  It  was 
the  longing  to  feel  the  sweet 
nearness  of  the  Lord  for  whose 
presence   she    yearned.     With 


74  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

Thomas,  the  verification  sought 
was  the  verification  of  evidence. 
With  Mary  it  was  the  assur- 
ance of  affection.  She  yearned 
for  the  touch  of  the  vanished 
hand  as  well  as  the  sound  of 
the  voice  which  had  been 
stilled.  For  her,  therefore,  a 
different  lesson  is  needed.  She 
stands  a  stage  higher  in  the 
school  of  faith.  She  may  move 
up  a  step  more.  The  Master 
will  not  always  be  present  to 
the  sight  or  near  to  the  touch 
of  His  Disciples.  The  spirit- 
ual presence  must  take  the 
place  of  the  physical.  She  is 
fitted  to  take  the  step  forward 
into  that  life  which  is  of  faith, 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  75 

not  sight.  It  is  an  ascended 
Lord,  whose  presence  can  be 
in  the  hearts  of  His  people 
though  He  Himself  is  unseen, 
who  is  to  be  her  Lord  hence- 
forth. To  her  Christ  seems  to 
say:  "  Learn  !  for  you  are  ripe 
to  learn  it,  that  the  path  of 
trust  is  often  in  the  dark.  Be- 
gin to  walk  that  higher  road 
which  is  so  hard  to  earthly  na- 
tures. Endeavour  to  do  with- 
out material  supports ;  cultivate 
the  faith  which  needs  not  to 
see." 

In  this  various  treatment  we 
see  the  depth  of  Christ's  love 
and  wisdom.  He  does  not 
treat   His   disciples   wholesale. 


FORTY   DAYS    OF 


He  calls  his  own  sheep  by 
name.  He  realises  their  indi- 
vidual needs;  He  adjusts  His 
treatment  to  their  characters. 


THE    RISEN    LIEE  JJ 


VI 
MANIFOLD   ARE    LOVE'S    WAYS 

There  is  much  to  be  learned 
from  Christ's  methods  of  action. 
Love  displays  itself  not  only  in 
doing  good  and  kind  things, 
but  in  its  way  of  doing  them. 
There  is,  therefore,  not  only 
something  to  be  learned  from 
the  fact  that  He  showed  Him- 
self to  His  Disciples,  but  from 
considering  the  meaning  of 
those  words  of  the  Evangelist, 
**  After  this  manner  He  showed 
Himself."     He  chose  His  own 


78  FORTY   DAYS    OF 

way  of  manifestation,  and  His 
own  way  had  its  meaning  and 
use. 

We  need  to  dwell  on  this 
variety  that  we  may  grasp  its 
significance.  Sometimes  He 
appears  to  the  Disciples  when 
gathered  together,  as  in  the 
place  where  **  they  were  as- 
sembled for  fear  of  the  Jews." 
Sometimes  He  appears  to  one 
Disciple  alone,  as  to  Mary  at 
the  sepulchre  and  to  Peter; 
sometimes  to  two  friends  to- 
gether, as  to  the  two  on  their 
way  to  Emmaus.  Sometimes 
He  appears  while  His  Disciples 
are  conversing;  at  other  times 
when   they   are    working.     No 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  79 

time  or  place  or  occupation 
seems  to  exclude  His  coming. 
He  reveals  Himself  to  His 
Disciples  in  the  various  condi- 
tions of  their  life  and  thoughts. 
This  variety  of  His  action 
teaches  us  two  things : 

He  forbids  our  limiting  the 
manifestation  of  Christ  to  one 
method  only.  This  has  been 
a  weakness  of  some  Christian 
teachers.  They  have  imagined 
that  as  Christ  came  to  them, 
so  He  would  come  to  others. 
The  truth  is  that  our  poor  weak 
minds  cling  to  places  we  know 
and  to  methods  with  which  we 
are  familiar;  we  measure  Him 
and  His  ways  by  our  own  small 


80  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

range,  as  though  His  thoughts 
must  be  as  our  thoughts,  and 
His  ways  as  our  ways.  One 
imagines  that  it  is  only  in  soH- 
tude  that  Christ  will  be  found. 
Each  soul  must  go  out  into  its 
wilderness.  Far  from  the  world 
and  its  stunning  noises,  far 
from  men  and  their  distracting 
influences,  the  vision  of  the 
Lord  can  be  seen,  and  only 
when  we  have  cut  ourselves 
away  from  our  fellows  will  the 
Lord  come.  It  is  true  that 
He  has  come  thus  to  many. 
Solitude  has  been  found  a 
sanctuary  by  many  souls.  But 
it  is  not  true  that  He  only 
comes  there.     Did  he  not  warn 


THE   RISEN   LIFE 


His  Disciples  against  the  limi- 
tations of  His  way  of  coming? 
Did  he  not  tell  of  those  who 
would  cry,  "  Behold,  He  is  in 
the  desert"?  And  did  he  not 
say,  "  Go  not  after  them,  neither 
follow  them  "? 

He  does,  indeed,  come  to 
sad  and  solitary  souls.  Weep- 
ing Mary  finds  Him  near  when 
she  deems  herself  alone.  But 
He  comes  also  when  men  are 
gathered  together  in  brotherly 
counsel  and  afifection.  While 
they  discuss  matters  of  common 
interest  and  common  danger 
Jesus  Himself  stands  in  the 
midst  of  them.  This  can  hardly 
surprise    us.     Was    it   not   the 


82  FORTY  DAYS   OF 

fulfilment  of  His  own  promise, 
"  Where  two  or  three  are  gath- 
ered together  in  my  name  there 
am  I  in  the  midst  of  them"? 

But  though  this  is  true,  they 
speak  falsely  who  would  say, 
"  Only  where  the  Disciples  are 
gathered  together  is  Christ 
found."  He  seeks  out  the 
lonely  and  sad-hearted  Peter: 
"  The  Lord  is  risen  and  hath 
appeared  unto  Simon." 

He  comes  to  those  who  are 
in  the  desert,  but  the  desert 
does  not  command  Him.  He 
comes  to  those  who  are  in  the 
upper  room,  but  the  upper 
room  does  not  command  Him. 
He  appears  to  those  who  jour- 


THE   RISExM   LIFE  83 

ney  from  Jerusalem,  but  the 
Emmaus  road  does  not  com- 
mand Him.  The  force  which 
draws  Him  is  that  which  drew 
Him  to  earth.  It  is  that  which 
drew  Him  to  the  side  of  men 
while  He  was  ministering  be- 
fore He  suffered.  It  is  human 
need  which  draws  Him  near  to 
man.  It  is  to  hungering  souls 
that  He  comes.  The  state  of 
the  spirit  has  more  to  do  with 
His  coming  than  the  place  or 
the  company  in  which  we 
chance  to  be.  "  The  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  within  you,"  He 
said;  and  in  saying  this  He 
taught  us  that  men  saw  Him 
or  saw  Him  not  according  to 


84  FORTY  DAYS   OF 

their  spiritual  dispositions,  and 
not  according  to  their  geo- 
graphical position.  He  set 
Himself  against  all  localising 
ideas.  Neither  in  this  moun- 
tain, nor  yet  at  Jerusalem. 
Spiritual  things  were  above 
terrestrial  limits.  They  were 
governed  by  spiritual,  not  by 
terrestrial  considerations.  "  In 
spirit  and  in  truth  "  the  Father 
was  to  be  worshipped.  Men 
need  not  to  ask  where  they  are, 
but  only  what  they  are  in  spirit. 
If  the  spirit  be  right,  the  vision 
is  theirs.  The  pure  in  heart 
may  see  Him.  To  the  loving 
and  obedient  soul  He  will  mani- 
fest Himself.     Light  springs  up 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  85 


for  the  righteous,  and  joyful 
gladness  for  such  as  are  true- 
hearted.  Thus,  whether  on  the 
highroad,  or  in  the  place  of 
assembly,  or  at  the  graveside, 
He  may  be  met  with.  True 
hearts  may  meet  Him  any- 
where, everywhere. 

n.  But,  none  the  less,  this 
variety  teaches  us  His  tender 
thought  for  special  and  indi- 
vidual needs.  It  was  best  for 
Mary  that  she  should  meet  her 
Lord  by  the  empty  tomb. 
There  where  her  sorrow  seemed 
greatest  her  comfort  came. 
There  are  heart-sorrows  with 
which  no  stranger  may  inter- 
meddle,  and  in  which    earthly 


86  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

friends  seem  to  have  no  real 
part.  We  feel  that  we  must 
carry  it  away  with  us  to  the 
spot  most  sacred  to  memory. 
In  such  cases  the  consolation 
comes  fittest  in  solitude. 

Other  cases  need  different 
help.  When  the  Disciples  were 
drawn  together  by  their  com- 
mon sorrow,  common  peril,  and 
common  perplexity,  no  mani- 
festation of  Christ  to  the  in- 
dividual would  have  sufficed. 
The  presence  of  their  Lord  was 
a  common  presence;  they  all 
saw  Him ;  they  all  recognised 
Him.  He  was  the  Lord  of  all, 
seen  of  all,  and  by  His  presence 
binding  all  into  a  brotherhood 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  8/ 

as  real  and  as  indissoluble  as 
their  common  sorrow  and  com- 
mon danger  had  bound  them. 
Thus  He  consecrates  and  con- 
firms His  presence  in  collective 
worship.  We  may  look  for 
Him  where  His  people  are 
gathered  together,  not  because 
it  is  this  place  or  that,  but  be- 
cause they  are  gathered  to- 
gether  in    His   name. 


88  FORTY   DAYS   OF 


VII 

GRACE  SANCTIONS  AND  SANC- 
TIFIES   NATURAL  TIES 

There  are  certain  human  con- 
ditions which  Christ  appears  to 
me  to  have  recognised  in  His 
methods  of  manifestation. 

I.  He  recognises  human 
friendships. 

It  is  as  the  two  friends  (for 
who  can  doubt  their  attach- 
ment ?)  walk  and  speak  sadly 
together  that  Jesus  Himself 
drew  nigh.  We  read  the  story 
and  we  recognise  all  that  Christ 
taught    them    concerning    the 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  89 

Scriptures  and  Himself.  But 
does  he  not  teach  them  and 
us  how  friendship  may  be 
sanctified? 

One  fatal  foe  of  friendship  is 
that  reserve  which  creates  an 
artificiality  of  sentiment.  We 
meet,  but  we  do  not  commune 
of  all  that  is  in  our  souls.  We 
feel  that  to  speak  with  entire 
frankness  will  be  to  lose  some 
measure  of  esteem.  If  we  ex- 
press what  we  really  think  and 
feel  we  shall  be  viewed  with 
suspicion ;  our  orthodoxy  will 
be  impeached ;  we  shall  be 
considered  erratic ;  we  shall 
be  spoken  of  as  dangerous, 
as  persons  with  undecided  or 


90  FORTY   DAYS    OF 

misty  views.  We  do  not,  per- 
haps, wish  to  shock  our  friends  ; 
we  know  their  views,  and  we 
would  not  willingly  wound  them. 
There  may  be  some  self-denial 
in  this  reserve;  but  there  may 
arise  from  it  an  atmosphere  of 
unreality,  and  where  this  exists 
friendship  in  the  deeper  and 
truer  sense  becomes  impossi- 
ble. For  real  friendship  there 
must  be  real  confidence,  and 
no  tinge  of  suspicion  that  the 
frank  outspokenness  of  the 
heart  will  be  misunderstood 
or  misrepresented.  No  really 
tender-hearted  man  will  lightly 
shock  his  friend  or  wound  his 
soul    by   posing    as    better   or 


THE   RISEN   LIFE 


worse  than  he  is;  but,  never- 
theless, friendship  needs  the 
freest  intercourse,  the  difficul- 
ties, the  misgivings,  the  per- 
plexities of  the  mind  may  be 
told ;  there  is  a  calm  and  frank 
telling  of  doubts  which  can 
never  be  misunderstood,  for  it 
is  the  pledge  of  earnestness  and 
sincerity. 

And  so  the  two  friends  on 
their  way  to  Emmaus  told  all 
their  thoughts  and  doubts  to 
one  another.  They  communed 
with  one  another.  Divine  hopes 
and  behefs  had  been  their  com- 
mon treasure.  The  shadows  of 
the  present  hour  of  darkness 
were  theirs  also.     They  shared 


FORTY   DAYS   OF 


their  souls  with  one  another. 
They  sought  no  veil  or  con- 
cealment. In  this  way  they 
came  nearest  to  helping  one 
another. 

It  was  to  such  friends  that 
Christ  drew  near.  Honest 
seekers  after  truth  may  thus 
find  truth  together.  Friend- 
ship is  sanctified  when  some- 
thing is  sought  which  is  even 
greater  than  friendship,  even 
that  divine  heart  of  all  things 
which  is  the  stay  and  the  source 
of  all  friendship.  Jesus  Christ, 
in  recognising  their  friendship, 
taught  that  a  simple  and  true- 
hearted  attachment,  which  has 
other  aims  than  mere  egotistic 


THE   RISEN    LIFE  93 

satisfaction,  can  exercise  an 
ennobling  influence.  To  be 
united  in  the  pursuit  of  truth 
tends  to  strengthen  affection. 
Where  such  attachments  are, 
Christ  is  not  far  off. 

But  this  friendship  was  not 
the  only  one  our  Lord  rec- 
ognised. There  was  another 
friendship  which  we  must  have 
noticed  among  the  Disciples. 
Peter  and  John  had  just  those 
points  of  resemblance  and  of 
difference  which  so  often  be- 
come the  bonds  of  friendship. 
There  was  a  measure  of  vehe- 
mence in  both.  The  impetu- 
osity of  St.  Peter  is  paralleled 
by  the  eagerness  of  St.  John. 


94  FORTY   DAYS    OF 

Peter  could  not  endure  to  think 
of  his  Master  suffering  humilia- 
tion. "  That  be  far  from  Thee, 
Lord"  (Matt.  xvi.  22).  John 
could  not  endure  to  see  his 
Master  rejected,  and  would  fain 
call  down  fire  upon  those  who 
did  not  receive  Him  (Luke  ix. 
51-56).  But  there  was  a  strain 
of  quiet  thoughtfulness  about 
John  which  Peter  lacked.  Peter 
was  the  Martha  of  the  Apos- 
tles; John  was  its  Mary.  Be- 
tween them  grew  a  special 
friendship.  They  understood 
one  another.  If  a  question  is 
to  be  asked,  or  a  remark  of 
rapid  insight  to  be  expressed, 
they  address  one  another  nat- 


THE   RISEN    LIFE  95 

urally,  as  though  sure  of  sym- 
pathetic response  (John  xiii.  24 
and  xxi.  7). 

Jesus  Christ  recognised  this 
friendship  also.  It  is  charac- 
teristic of  Peter  that  his  first 
question  after  his  forgiveness 
and  restoration  was  a  question 
respecting  John,  **  Lord,  what 
shall  this  man  do?"  The  re- 
ply sounds  hard.  It  sounds  as 
though  our  Lord  would  check 
the  warmth  of  this  attachment. 
''What  is  that  to  thee?  follow 
thou  me." 

In  weighing  this  reply,  some- 
thing must  be  allowed  for  Peter's 
mental  balance  at  the  moment, 
and  what  it  required.     He  had 


g6  P^ORTY   DAYS   OF 

been  relieved  from  the  tension 
of  those  days  of  anxiety  and 
suspense.  With  the  sense  of 
rehef,  he  a  little  lost  his  self- 
control,  and,  like  a  man  from 
whom  a  great  weight  has  fallen, 
he  was  tempted  to  speak  for 
the  sake  of  speaking,  and  to 
speak  without  full  reflection. 
His  eye  rested  on  his  friend, 
and  he  burst  out  with  the  ques- 
tion, *'  What  shall  this  man 
do?"  At  such  moments  de- 
cisiveness of  manner  and  lan- 
guage is  helpful  in  restoring 
the  half-lost  balance  of  the 
mind.  Christ,  therefore,  re- 
calls Peter  to  himself  by 
reminding   him  that  there  are 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  9/ 

matters    which    it    is    not    for 

him    to    know. 

And  yet,  when  we  allow  our 

Lord's    reply  further   thought, 

we  begin  to   realise  how  fully 

it  meant  this  :  ''  Your  friend  is 

in    my  hands.     I  may  have    a 

will   concerning   him    and    his 

future.     You  may  surely  trust 

him   to    me.     Do    your   work, 

and  believe  that  I  have  charge 

of   what    you   hold    so    dear." 

Thus  with  rebuke  there  mingles 

reassurance.  The  answer,  which 

the  heart  of  Peter  asked  for,  is 

given.     He  may  trust  that  all 

will    be   well   with    his    friend, 

though  he  may  not  know  what 

future  is  in  store  for  him. 
7 


98  FORTY   DAYS    OF 

It  is  God's  way  to  ask  us  to 
trust  not  only  ourselves,  but 
what  is  far  harder,  our  friends, 
in  His  keeping.  And  this  for 
a  simple  reason  —  viz.,  that  we 
may  realise  that  however  strong 
our  love  for  our  friends  may 
be,  the  divine  love  is  more.  If 
we  realise  the  depth  and  inten- 
sity, the  wisdom  and  persis- 
tency of  the  love  of  God,  we 
shall  recognise  that  our  ques- 
tions, and  at  times  even  our 
prayers,  on  their  behalf,  are 
only  exhibitions  of  the  naked- 
ness of  our  faith.  God  has  His 
way  and  His  work  with  every 
human  soul.  That  way  is  wise. 
That  work   is    good.     A   love 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  99 

greater  than  ours  presides  over 
it  all.  The  more  completely 
we  understand  this,  the  fewer 
will  our  questions  be.  When 
faith  is  perfect,  at  that  day  we 
shall  ask  Him  nothing.  St. 
Peter  learned  a  stronger  trust 
as  time  went  on.  He  could 
urge  it  upon  his  fellow-Chris- 
tians. It  was  not  necessary  to 
know  everything  and  to  see 
everything.  It  was  only  need- 
ful to  rely  on  the  unseen  Christ 
and  His  love.  "  Whom,  hav- 
ing not  seen,  ye  love  ;  in  whom, 
though  now  ye  see  Him  not, 
yet  believing,  ye  rejoice  with 
joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory."     The   man    who  wrote 


lOO  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

thus  is  far  removed  from  the 
man  who  asked,  ''What  shall 
this  man  do?"  But  though 
far  removed  from  his  former 
self,  he  is  none  the  less  firmly 
and  constantly  attached  to  his 
friend.  Faith  gives  sanctity 
and  security  to  friendship. 

II.  Christ  recognises  the  ac- 
tive and  contemplative  life. 
He  makes  manifest  Himself  to 
those  who  are  meditating  and 
to  those  who  are  working. 

I.  He  showed  Himself  to 
those  who  were  working.  On 
the  seashore,  where  the  Dis- 
ciples were  toiling  at  their  old 
trade  of  fishing,  He  appeared 
to  them.     There  is  nothing  in- 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  lOI 

compatible  in  toil  with  a  divine 
revelation.  Jeremiah  found  the 
word  of  the  Lord  in  the  pot- 
ter's house,  while  the  potter 
wrought  his  work  upon  the 
wheel.  Christ  in  His  earlier 
ministry  appeared  to  the  fisher- 
men on  the  Lake  of  Galilee. 
It  may  have  been  a  faithless 
despair  which  led  Peter  to  re- 
sume his  old  trade;  but  there 
was  nothing  in  the  trade  itself 
to  hinder  the  vision  of  Christ 
We  often  complain  that  work 
excludes  us  from  the  calm  light 
of  heaven.  Ah  !  it  is  not  work, 
but  worldliness,  which  shuts  out 
Christ.  Work  wherever  God 
has  called  us  is  a  blessed  thing, 


102  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

and  in  the  doing  of  it  we  may 
meet  our  Lord. 

2.  He  showed  Himself  to 
those  who  were  plunged  in 
thought.  While  Mary  was  re- 
volving the  problem  which  per- 
plexed her  in  the  graveyard, 
Christ  appeared  to  her;  while 
the  two  were  exchanging  their 
thoughts  and  meditating  upon 
all  that  had  happened  in  Je- 
rusalem, Jesus  Himself  drew 
near. 

He  thus  sanctions  the  two 
aspects  of  life.  Life  which  has 
no  contemplation,  no  leisure 
for  quiet  meditation,  is  so  far 
incomplete.  Life  which  is  cut 
off  from  activity,  is  life  which 


THE   RISEN   LIFE  IO3 

misses  much  teaching.  It  is 
best  when  both  are  combined 
—  when  he  who  works  can  pray, 
and  he  who  prays  can  work 
also ;  it  is  best  so  for  the  soul. 
Thought  without  work  degen- 
erates into  theory ;  work  with- 
out thought  is  weariness  and 
often  profitlessness.  And  yet 
when  in  the  course  of  God's 
ordaining  the  worker  is  laid 
aside,  or  when,  in  the  press  of 
thronging  duties,  no  leisure  for 
thought  is  left,  there  need  be 
no  room  or  reason  for  despair. 
Such  are  not  forsaken  of  Christ. 
The  urgent  duties  may  be 
bright  with  the  light  and  joy 
of  heaven,  and  the  lonely  cham- 


104  FORTY   DAYS   OF 

ber  of  the  invalid  may  be  the 
home  of  Christ. 

Thus  does  the  risen  Lord 
show  us  that  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  life  are  within  His 
care  and  His  ken.  The  recog- 
nitions of  His  presence  may  be 
seldom  ;  the  moments  when  we 
can  rejoice  in  the  light  of  His 
countenance  may  be  rare ;  but 
the  conviction  of  His  presence 
may  be  a  perpetual  strength, 
and  the  knowledge  of  His  love 
a  sustaining  force  in  every  task 
and  trial  which  we  may  be 
called  upon  to  encounter. 


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